Put what! inside?

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Well, I think this may be my first post here, so please be kind.

I am a bit in the poor house till pay-day (who's not been there) and I am being creative this week. I even went so far as to try a 'recipe as seen on TV' and boy, that was a disaster. My Sweet potato (I actually used Butternut Squash) dumplings went thud!!

No worries mate, because the flavour was right nice, and very reminiscent of perogies. So, being poor and creative, I rolled out the remaining doe and made perogies!!

Of course, that's not the whole truth of it. I did the lazy thing blended with the Tim Taylor thing (more power) and cut rounds, heaped the potato in the middle, and topped with another round. They were quite good.

They also reminded the wife and I of Sombreros. Little Mexican hats floating in the water. Well, for dinner tomorrow, my wife would like me to do this again, with a more Mexican twist.

HERE is my trouble. I don't want to do the potato stuffing again. I would like to try something else. I have some collard greens in the fridge that are desperate to be cooked and I am thinking of using them.

If I did, any ideas on how to season and spice the greens? Should I cook them right down to a paste or leave them intact and shredded? Or should I think of something else entirely?


Your thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Suzanne]

First of all, WELCOME!!! I see in your other post that you went to cooking school somewhat "late" in life; me too, even later. You're in good company here. Including quite a few folks all over Canada.

Now, as to your question: I would chop the collards fairly fine, cook them with lots of chopped onions, a little chopped garlic, and a lot of chopped bacon. (I assume that even at this part of the pay cycle, you have bacon. I mean, isn't that one thing everybody ALWAYS has? ) Plus a little hot pepper flakes. How long to cook them depends on how tender they are to start, of course. After they're done, drain, add a little vinegar, drain again, and there's your stuffing. Yeah, I know this isn't at all Mexican, but it would be good, and fits your requirements. Maybe you could top them with salsa?

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh


LOL

Thank you.

I knew that as soon as I said greens I was well north of Mexico. But it is what I have in the fridge at the moment. I don't have 'bacon' though, I don't buy it unless I am doing something specifically with it. In St Catherins on the 8 there is a free range farm that sell boar bacon that is sublime. I do have a cube of salt belly which is really the same. I usually buy the salt belly for Red Beans and Rice or for Baked Beans, both of which are on the house menu this week. I don't have pepper flakes either, but I do have pickled jalpeno rings (I like them minced in scrambled eggs for breakfast), so I will use them. I will be doing chicken for dinner as well, and what I intend is to coat it with a coarse bean flour (which I also use for falafal and mongorhis, it is 50% chick peas 25% lentils and 25% romano) spiced with chili powder and lemon (as I am also out of lime). So, I guess the Mexican in the dinner will be spelt with a small 'm'.

Cooking at home is always a challenge for me. Many of the standards that I learned in Cooking School I have had to learn to modify in the house. My son can't tollerate wheat, chocolate, or refined sugar (honey is ok), and he is hyper sensitive to vitamine C, and my daughter is allergic to tomatos and (so far) cashews and pistachios!! Makes it interesting to say the least.